The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has commissioned a quality check on MDH and Everest products. This follows complaints that several popular spice mixes of the two leading brands contained traces of ethylene oxide more than the permissible levels, official sources said. This move by FSSAI comes after Hong Kong and Singapore recalled variants of the two masala majors' products in their countries.
Direct tax collection, net of refunds, moderately exceeded the revised estimates (RE) for the financial year 2023-24 (FY24) on the back of personal income tax revenues, but corporation tax receipts fell short of the RE. Net direct tax collection stood at Rs 19.58 trillion in FY24, surpassing the RE of Rs 19.45 trillion by Rs 13,000 crore, or 0.7 per cent. The government had revised up FY24 projections for personal income tax by 13.5 per cent over the Budget estimates (BE) of Rs 9 trillion, at Rs 10.22 trillion.
Consumer goods firms and auto companies are witnessing an upturn in rural demand, which had been lagging for most of FY24. Expectations of a bumper rabi crop harvest have helped turn the tide. The Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) Monetary Policy Committee kept the repo rate unchanged last week, noting that as rural demand catches up, consumption is expected to support economic growth in 2024-25.
Fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies anticipate sustained volume pressures in the January-March quarter (Q4) coupled with sluggish rural growth during the period. Brokerages estimate top-line growth to be in low single digits in the quarter. Also, the late onset of winter had an impact on demand for winter products which range from moisturisers to hot beverages.
The new excise policy, introduced in Delhi in November 2021, made sweeping changes to the city's liquor trade.
An income tax tribunal held that the amount received by Google Ireland from Google India towards marketing and distribution rights of the AdWords programme is not royalty, and hence, cannot be taxed at the hands of the assessee (Google Ireland). The ruling by the Bengaluru-based Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) may have repercussions on similar transactions by multinationals, feel experts. Explaining the case, Amit Maheshwari, tax expert at AKM Global, said Google Ireland had received Rs 8,662.93 crore under the Google Reseller Agreements.
'Right to apprenticeship means that anyone below the age of 25 years with a diploma or other qualifications can demand an apprenticeship with a private, a public sector company or a government organisation. And when he/she demands this, it is the obligation of the government to provide it.'
Consumers may have to shell out more to buy television panels as manufacturers say they may raise prices again in April. The industry has been facing this issue of price rise post the pandemic and open cell prices have gone up by around 30 per cent in the last one year. And, television panel manufacturers expect this trend to continue.
The protesting farmers' main demand to legalise the minimum support price (MSP) regime has divided opinion. One school of thought says it would lead to crop diversification and help India keep under check its burgeoning import bill on edible oils and pulses, while another says it would incentivise farmers to produce low-quality crops. Contrary to popular perception, India has a trade surplus in agriculture and allied activities, which stood at $18.65 billion during 2022-23 (FY23) against $15.92 billion in the previous year. However, the surplus was mainly on account of rice, wheat, sugar, spices, and buffalo meat.
Tax devolution shares, which threaten to create a north-south divide among states, may have more to do with per capita income, and not so much with population.
Government unlikely to bring in an ordinance to address the developments arising out of the Supreme Court order.
Furniture retailer Ikea India on Thursday said it will shut down its store in Mumbai's R City Mall by the middle of this year and explore omnichannel formats in the city. The store at R City Mall, which is spread across 72,000 sq ft, opened in June 2022 to test the viability of small-format stores. The company's plan to shut down the store illustrates the concerns surrounding the viability of running a small-format store, given the rising rentals.
'Personal income tax is growing by 27 per cent and most refunds have already been issued.'
'We crossed Rs 1.7 trillion in three months this financial year.'
'In staples, we have still managed in rural areas.'
On the back of robust tax collection, the ratio of direct taxes to gross domestic product (GDP) this financial year is likely to be the highest in this century so far. This, along with strong goods and services tax (GST) collection, may drive up receipts from central taxes as a proportion of GDP to the highest level or close to the highest since 2008-09 despite subdued excise and customs duty receipts. This will be due also to lower nominal GDP projected in the first advance estimates for 2023-24.
In India, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) majors continue to hold sway, with incumbent brands cornering 65 per cent of the market share, shows a Bain & Company report. While identifying the continued preference of Indians for incumbent brands, the report says that the dominance of general trade in the country has allowed national brands to maintain their supremacy. The low penetration of e-commerce in the country has also helped large brands.
'On the final product, there can be an increase of a minimum of 10 per cent in February and March.'
'Will make sure that we create value. We will again look for organic and inorganic opportunities.'
Growth rate in per capita income is projected to fall to the lowest in 21 years this financial year - except for the financial years 2019-20 (FY20) and 2020-21 (FY21) - according to the first advance estimates. During the last 21 years, the two periods - FY20 and FY21 - saw growth rates in per capita income lower than 7.9 per cent, seen during FY24. This was despite the real gross domestic product (GDP) being projected to grow by 7.3 per cent in the current financial year by the first advance estimates.